Drabbles 2
by OuyangDan
Summary: More drabbles in response to prompts I've received on Tumblr. Most of them are related to my Cousland Warden, Kahrin's universe, and many of them the result of DA RP.


**keelangan asked: Anders magics permanent cat ears on Carver**

Carver was a little fed up, and that was putting it mildly.  
>He was sick of watching this guy leer at his sister. He was tired of him always running at the mouth. "Mages this" and "plight that" blah blah blah. After the first few days you'd heard just about all he had to say, and frankly, he was like the thing that wouldn't shut up.<br>"Hey, mage. Shove your plight. I've heard it before." He grumped, wincing slightly at the glare shot at him from his sister.  
>"Carver, you're such a sourpuss. Such a chip on your shoulder."<br>"Yeah, well you see this?" he jerked his thumb towards his back. "I have a big sword on my shoulder."  
>Anders gave him a wry grin, and waggled his fingers slightly. Carver felt a crawling across his scalp, sodding magic. He hated the way it felt. He reached up to scratch the feeling away with his hand.<br>"What in Andraste's knickers…"  
>"Now you really are a sourpuss," Anders grinned, and turned, following the group.<br>"I hate you."  
>"But at least now you can hate me and be cute, puss!"<p>

**nightmaredifficulty asked: Kahrin and Rowan (the pup).**

It made her happy because it made _him_ happy.  
>The way the slow smile had spread across his face, turning up at the corners of his mouth as his face was licked by excited puppy tongue. How it had hit his eyes with nothing short of unadulterated glee when she'd bounded her chubby little way into his lap. It seemed he was meant to be brought down by tiny women.<br>This day, both of the little warrior women in his life were muddy from spending the morning running around the grounds of Vigil's Keep. She knew the little pup had wormed her way into her own heart, because who could resist such a thing as a Mabari? She was, after all, Ferelden to her core. The connection wasn't there for them, though, it didn't matter. They chased and played and napped, and Kahrin had indulged her and let her chew the hideous rug in her office that she was sure had been left over from the Keep's previous occupant. There was no denying who the pup had chosen the moment he'd wandered out to find them.  
>The little brown bundle ran laps around him, yapping excitedly, bonding within moments, master and mabari with eyes for no one else. Kahrin couldn't help but watch, still dripping and muddy in her dress, at how a part of him she'd never seen shone bright with this seemingly small thing.<br>It was beautiful.  
>And it made her happy, because it made <em>them<em> happy.

**nightmaredifficulty asked: Kahrin has to wear a ridiculously Orlesian dress. Bonus points for a Carver reaction.**

"Andraste's tits," she glared at the reflection in the mirror, and then let out a bark of laughter at the particular curse she'd just chosen. "Which I might add, is completely ironic since I don't even begin to fill this out. Clearly Orlesian women are not warriors. Now cinch me into this getup."  
>She turned her back to him, sweeping her hair up and off her back, the stays wide open. Carver's face broke out in a huge grin as he crossed the room to assist her.<br>"That's not the most important thing, anyway." he trailed a finger up her back before helping her, smirking when it resulted in a slight shudder from her. Well, he was mostly helping anyway. "How are you planning on walking in this thing?"  
>She let out an exasperated groan in frustration. "There's shoes. Somewhere, there is a ridiculous pair of shoes." Pulling free from his hands she began crawling around looking for them, swimming in seemingly endless yards of ruffles and silk. She'd put damned things on to try to practice walking earlier, and had sworn she'd wear her boots instead.<br>After just a few moments of search she pulled one out from under the bed. "Aha!" Clutching her trophy she waved it around. "Found what I was looking for!"  
>"Mmm…me too." Grinning he swept her up off the floor, hands finding her legs under the excessive amount of fabric. "Turns out I don't like you in gowns as much as I thought I would."<br>Laughing, she tossed the shoe aside. Clearly it wouldn't be needed.

**bellisadinosaur asked: Alistair, melted cheese, little Elyssa**

What was the benefit of being King if you couldn't take advantage of some of the luxuries?  
>Sneaking into the dark kitchen, he rummaged around and found what he'd been looking for. They were certainly going to keep the dairy farmers of the Bannorn in business with all of his late-night snacks. It was the time he stole for himself, the quiet hours in the dark with no one making demands of him, and it was the perfect time to indulge his unholy love of cheese.<br>Fumbling with the flint a bit, he managed to light the oven and walked to the massive island in the middle of the area where clearly all the food was prepared. Crusty bread, and a good hunk of muenster — clearly the superior cheese — and began slicing it with a practiced hand. He might be abominable with stew, but he could handle cheese on toast. He was getting pretty good at it, actually.  
>The sniffle from behind him caught him slightly off guard, no one ever came down here at night, except for him.<br>Her little face, bleary eyed and tear-stained broke his heart slightly. His greatest weakness was never a dragon or an archdemon or blood mages or abominations.  
>It was the tears of the love of his life.<br>"Hey there, Little Princess," he stooped down and pulled her up into a tight hug, running his hands through the mass of brown hair that tumbled in a pillow-ruffled mess down her back. She molded her tiny form to him, burying her face in his shoulder, and for a moment, life was perfect if he closed his eyes and used his imagination. "Want to help daddy make a snack?"  
>She nodded, a slight hiccup escaping, but a smile hinting at her tiny mouth and chubby cheeks. He wiped tears from her green eyes and kissed her forehead.<br>"Here, Princess, I'll hand you the cheese, and you put it on the bread." She spilled the details of her nightmare as they went about their task, and after sliding the tray into the oven, he pulled her into his giant lap and wrapped her in massive arms and hugged her tight, wishing he could protect her from the things that scared her in her sleep as well as the things in the world that might hurt her.  
>By the time the cheese was melted, the nightmares had been forgotten. She sat on the counter with her snack, and he leaned on elbows at her, chewing in his own.<br>She let out a giggle when he wiped a smudge of cheese across her nose, and then retaliated in kind. "Look, daddy, our noses match."  
>He smiled at her and wiped it away with a napkin. "They sure do, Princess. They sure do."<p>

**magesmagesmages asked: Finn's reaction to Uldred's rebellion. (I know this could possibly end ****up being a massive one, but I'd be interested!)**

He was in the library when the first of it broke out. He had no idea where any of it had started, but the screams pulled him out of his copy of _Healing With Entropy_, which he carefully put down, deciding against his better judgement to peer around the stacks to see what all the fuss was about.  
>Who screams in a library?<br>A fireball whooshed over his head. A fireball? _But the books_!  
>"Finn!" a voice shouted from somewhere near the stairs to the upper floors. "Get out of here, man, help us!"<br>Help them do what?  
>He gasped, looking around. Had he been that out of it? Had he really been that oblivious to everything that was going on around him? It didn't really surprise him that he'd not even known what was brewing here. Even the templars left him alone. Finn probably had more freedom than anyone because no one paid attention to him at all.<br>Mages were fighting each other, people from his classes, people he'd known _his whole Tower life_, using magic against one another.  
>Tripping slightly over the front of his robes, Vera clutched tightly in a — gross — sweating hand, he dashed towards the stairs. Not up, but down… no, up! He didn't know which way to go, and he hopped back just as a ball of entropic energy flew in front of him, striking the Senior Enchanter who had taught one of his Elemental classes.<br>The bearded man fell to the ground, eyes vacant, and even though his first instinct, against which Enlightenment protested, was to try to save him his better sense knew that he was beyond hope.  
>He was panicking. Of <em>course<em> he was panicking. There was a war going on around him, and _of course_ he'd been too buried in books to remember that Maggie or _someone_ thought it was probably Maggie because she was pretty and always made him nervous, had tried to talk to him about resistance or something else that had sounded absurd. He'd had no idea that they were serious!  
>He wished Anders was still here, Anders always had a plan. Of course, that was why he wasn't still here.<br>The wall of templars between he and the apprentice quarters was certainly not inspiring. He saw one of them move to draw will, and he knew beyond anything else that was tucked away in his very clever mind that he did not want to be cleansed or smitten right now. That would be beyond terrible. Taking a deep breath, because he had never in his life done this, he threw a forcefield at the templar, and then faster than even he knew he could, sent a streak of lightning that skipped between the others.  
>The screaming that erupted from their helps made him cringe. He was not someone who hurt people, he worked very hard his whole life to do just the opposite.<br>You can't stop to heal them, keep moving Finn.  
>Thankfully the spirit had more sense than he did, and he did in fact flee. He didn't know where he was going to go.<br>Someone yelled that Uldred had taken the top of the tower, and that didn't even make sense. Sure, the Senior Enchanter had some odd ideas that Finn had listened to with half interest now and then, but … was he really trying to lead a violent revolt?  
>Slamming his back up against a wall, he tried to collect his breath. He tried to not let panic and fear overwhelm him. He was the one who thought every detail of every action out ever, and now he didn't have the luxury of time to weigh the pros and cons of each side.<br>"Finn, this way!" It was Wynne. She was with Petra, who helped him teach basic healing, and they had a group of younger apprentices with her. It seemed logical to follow her, to try to protect young ones.  
>Maybe it would give him time to figure out what was going on, what he wanted.<br>Or maybe someone would just tell him what it was he wanted. He could live with that too. If he lived at all. Life in the Tower had never specifically been his choice, and perhaps this was why … because he _couldn't_ make a choice.  
>(I have to stop myself because this will expand and grow and be bigger than I should put up on Tumblr ahaha. 3 Finn sooooo much)<p>

**bellisadinosaur asked: That is not where that belongs, and you know that.**

Kahrin laid back with her head on her hands, fingers interlocked. Sometimes it really felt like work, and other times it was rather enjoyable to just watch. Whichever it was really depended on the day and his ability to listen. He was a surprisingly quick study once he figured out where everything went.  
>She stretched her neck slightly to get a good look at him.<br>"OK, that's not so bad, actually. Just, a little lower if you don— Maker's _Ass_, Alistair, that is not where that goes! It's not like you haven't done this before!"  
>She shot to sitting up and glared, her good mood spoiled.<br>"What? That's where I put it last time!"  
>"That is not the POINT!" She jumped up, her good and relaxed mood clearly gone. "If you put the tent pegs there the whole thing will fall down. Not even I can sleep in this tent. Look at this mess."<br>She took the pegs and rope from him and just did it herself. She was used to doing it herself anyhow.

**bellisadinosaur asked: Velanna has to be something other than a spider**

This was ridiculous. Creator's _sakes_. She didn't understand why she couldn't do this. She had already learned spider. It wasn't a big deal. It should be just that simple.  
>Throwing her hands up in frustration, she nearly gave up, but then turned at glared at the creature. It was an incredibly frightening thing, and she knew if she could just get it right she would have another formidable weapon in her arsenal. After all, by the dread wolf, had anyone ever heard one of them <em>scream<em>? It was truly terrifying.  
>Calling magic to her hands again she held them aloft the creature, which kept moving because of course nothing could be simple.<br>Finally just as she was about to grunt in frustration, she felt the realization in her mind that she could be this animal.  
>Now she would truly terrify anyone who misjudged her.<br>As her ears elongated and her legs became powerful, she grinned to herself. _Finally_.  
>She hopped away on her new rabbit legs, looking for her first hapless victim.<p>

**barbeauxbot asked: Kahrin and Laica, a drunk!silly conversation!**

"No! It was a gift! I swear it to you! He doesn't do such lewd things with it, I assure you, Kahrin!"  
>The bottles in the middle of the table between them were nothing unusual, especially if Kahrin stuck to the same drink as Laica. They giggled wildly to each other, and were in their own world so far as they were concerned.<br>No one _really_ got them, but _they_ got them, so it was all right.  
>"Right, and the barking mabari tattoo never talks to me, either, or ever tells me to do things."<br>Maybe that was too far, after all, Laica had her own Carver, who was actually her brother. Who was charming in his own… way.  
>Instead she burst into giggles. "I'm certain it doesn't, and Andraste <em>never<em> gives me commands from on high."  
>The wine was making her flush more than normal, not usually having such frank discussions in public. But her internal filter was just slightly off. Laica fluffed her hair clumsily and Kahrin only managed to catch half of her hair in the braid she was working.<br>"You just said he never did that. And didn't you tell me you _weren't_ the second coming of Andraste? Somehow I think that confession tells me otherwise."  
>They fell on each other, laughing.<p>

**scopedanddropped asked: Nate on a horse.**

He stared at the animal in the face. They needed to come to an understanding if this *ahem* partnership was going to work.  
>He was noble-born, and a Ranger besides. Why in the world was this so difficult. Even the Commander was skilled with the animals. She knew how to calm them and did that absurd cooing thing to them and it worked for her. When he tried it the resulting sound was akin to something one might hear when bears mated. Or got into the rubbish. The sound was really the same.<br>Grabbing the horn of the saddle he swung himself into it with all the grace and ease his years had taught him. Deux just looked at him as if the bear had an opinion on the matter. As if the ursine could somehow communicate with the equine and plot his inevitable demise.  
>He gave the animal a gentle squeeze with his thighs, but the creature reared back and tried to throw him. Holding on with all the dexterity both Maker-given and hard-learned, he managed to not be thrown from the saddle.<br>"Very smooth, Lieutenant." The laughter mixed with what sounded suspiciously like the bear was mocking him as well. He turned his glare from the horse to the woman who was now scratching his bear's ears and getting a shoulder full of nuzzling from the traitorous bear.  
>"This would be much easier without you criticizing my technique, <em>Commander<em>," he growled slightly at her, which she responded to with a smile.  
>"Me? Criticize the <em>ranger<em> on animal handling. Perish the thought, love. Come along, Deux, let's get some lunch."  
>They turned and left him to deal with the infuriating animal.<br>He silently cursed and decided he needed better friends.

**nightmaredifficulty asked: Carver/Nate scowl-off.**

Nathaniel glared over his paperwork at the whelp. Eager like a mabari with a new bone.  
>He supposed that summed up the situation even better than he thought.<br>Carver pulled his signature scowl back at the man. It wasn't _his fault_ that things had unfolded the way they did. The man was a right arse.  
>They remained in silence for a long time, each sizing the other up, and both wondering if they'd ever come to an accord.<br>Inconceivable, Howe thought.  
>Not bloody likely, Carver couldn't help but think.<p>

**bellisadinosaur asked: Alistair, kings do not chase chickens**

This was specifically why "Uncle Anders" was not allowed in the Palace. Well, there were other reasons as well, but for love of the Maker, this was certainly one of the top reasons.  
>A chicken! A chicken made out of lightning, of all things, and for whatever reason, instead of just cleansing it away safely, he began shooing it out of the throne room.<br>How in the world did the _King_ get stuck cleaning up his daughter's playthings?

**scopedanddropped asked: Natlia fluff, on Carroll's boat/in Rivain.**

They stood up just behind the bowsprit, looking out onto the horizon, blue against blue for as far as the eye could see. Nothing but tranquility and peace and absolutely not a thing in the world to scowl or brood at.  
>He slid his arms around her waist, leaning down slightly, and breathed deeply into her copper hair.<br>There was nothing here to disturb them, to come between a chance at finding… whatever it was either of them was looking for. They were still unsure, because they had promised to take it just one moment at a time. No darkspawn or commanders or even the Diving herself could rob them of those moments right here, right now.  
>He didn't know what he would do with this opportunity, if it lasted, but it was a relief to have a moment in which he could imagine it was possible should they figure out whatever it was opportune for.<p> 


End file.
